Having cycled across the USA in 2016 and down the eastern coast in 2018, this year I intend to ride the entire length of the west coast. My adventure starts in the far north east peninsula of Washington state at the town of Port Townsend and closely follows the Pacific Coastal highway for approximately 1,700 miles travelling through the states of Washington, Oregon and California before arriving at the town of Chula Vista in southern California and within just a few miles of the Mexican border.
This is a trip that has been on my ‘to do’ list for many years and I know from past holiday experiences this route has some amazing scenery. I am particularily looking forward to riding the Oregon coastal trail, through the Redwoods of northern California and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco before heading into southern California which will be new territory for me.
This year, I am riding with a British company called Bike Adventures who organise biking and adventure holidays all over the world.
I fly to Seattle on the 30th August before being shuttled to Port Townend ready for the start of the ride on Sunday 1st September. Averaging approximately 65 miles per day I am scheduled to arrive in Chula Vista on Friday 27th September.
Similar to my previous cycling adventures I hope to maintain a daily Blog of my travels and will also endeavour to update the Maps and Stats so that you are able to keep track of my progress. It would be great to have you along on the journey once again and although I am not intending to ride for charity, if you enjoy reading my blog, then I’m sure Dorothy House and Naomi House and Jacksplace would appreciate any donation you feel able to give.
People often ask me why I embark on these long distance cycling adventures and I guess there is not a simple answer. Riding from John O’Groats to Lands End in 1997 to celebrate my 40th birthday made me realise that life can pass relatively quickly and that you should always try to find the time to do things that you really want to do. Strangely, I enjoy the physical challenge of training for a new adventure together with the mental preparation that is also required. I enjoy meeting and talking to folk who I come across on the road and cycling with people who have a similar sense of adventure and outlook on life to me. I have seen parts of the world that I would never have seen had I not been on a bike and have shared some really magical moments of breathtaking scenery. I also relish the times when I find myself alone on the open road with the only sound being the wind and the wildlfe – these are the ‘special’ moments which I often use as my ‘thinking and contemplation’ time. I love the overall American cycling experience, the significantly friendlier and quieter roads, the rolling terrain and the general vastness of the country. I am now used to the discipline and daily pattern of a long distance cycling adventure – ‘Ride, Eat, Sleep, Repeat’ and to a certain extent, being in charge of my own destiny and well being.
I guess that I have been fortunate to enjoy good health over the years and have a very supportive family. My wife Sarah and son Ben have encouraged me to ‘Follow my Dreams’ and have always been there to offer kind words of wisdom and support.
I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead and riding in the USA once again.
Current Location – CHULA VISTA, CA
Distance cycled since Port Townsend – 1,701 miles
Gross elevation gain since Port Townsend – 81,312 ft
Distance Remaining to Chula Vista, CA – 0 miles
2019 Ride The West – London to Port Townsend, WA After driving to Heathrow yesterday evening it was an early start this morning to drive the short distance to Terminal 5 to catch flight BA053 to Seattle. I was apprehensive as I approached the check in desk after the hassle
Orientation Day, Port Townsend , WA Went to bed at about 20:00 last night and woke at 02:00 and then dozed for the rest of the night. It normally takes me two or three nights to adjust to new time zones and interrupted sleep is just a thing you get
Day 1 – Port Townsend to Shelton, WA Slept a little better last night but still woke very early this morning. Today is Day 1 of my new adventure to cycle the west coast of the USA, from effectively the Canadian border down as far as the Mexican border. This
Day 2 – Shelton to Westport The weather was slightly misty this morning when we left the Super 8 motel in Shelton shortly before 09:00 this morning but the sun soon burnt through the mist and the rest of the day was cycled in warm summer sunshine. Today was a relatively
Day 3 – Westport to Long Beach Today was going to be another long day in the saddle. We awoke to damp conditions caused primarily by the sea mist that had rolled in overnight. Breakfast at the hotel consisted of coffee and scones although there was additional food available in
Day 4 – Long Beach to Rockaway Beach I didn’t sleep well last night, the room was hot, there was no air conditioning and room lacked the usual niceties found in a better class hotel. Nevertheless, the show must go on and today we had over 70 miles to ride.
Day 5 – Rockaway Beach to Lincoln City Finally had a good nights sleep last night having spent the evening sat on my veranda overlooking the Pacific Ocean and chatting with Eric, a retired farmer from Perth, Australia. Breakfast this morning was at the Cowbells cafe, a short walk from
Day 6 – Lincoln City to Florence Apparently it rained during the night but I didn’t hear anything and it was still drizzling at 07:15 this morning when I went for breakfast. The hotel provided a good cooked breakfast and we sat around discussing the weather and what time the
Day 7 – Florence to Bandon Left Florence just before 08:30 and straight into a climb. I felt rough this morning, my legs ached and my body was telling me that I’d done some serious cycling over the past 6 days. Roy kindly took the lead and I followed in his slipstream
Day 8- Rest Day in Bandon After 7 days of hard riding it was nice waking up this morning and not having to get on the bike. Despite it being rest day there were still chores to do starting with walking to the local laundry to get my washing done
Day 9 -Bandon to Gold Beach On the road again today after yesterday’s rest day in Bandon and what a day it was. We awoke to heavy rain showers and the forecast did not look good for the rest of the day. A few riders decided to leave early hoping
Day 10 Gold Beach to Crescent City If yesterday was a bad day, today was one of the best days on tour so far. The forecast was looking reasonable with little or no rain and the winds had lightened from those of yesterday. As I stepped out of my room
Day 11 – Crescent City to Arcata Although a long and tiring day this was another great day of tour and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. We left the hotel at 08:00 this morning after an excellent hot buffet breakfast and headed back to US101 which would be our companion for
Day 12 – Arcata to Redcrest The hotel in Alcata last night was very poor compared to the usual American standards and breakfast this morning did nothing to enhance the overall experience. Roy and I left at 08:45 with a plan to stop in Eureka for coffee and then ride
Day 13 – Redcrest to Leggett I had a great nights sleep last night, whether it was the beer or the pizza I slept right through the night to about 06:00 this morning. Breakfast was in the ladies luxury chalet this morning, proper china cups and plates and real cutlery. Roy
Day 14 – Leggett to Fort Bragg A relatively short day but short days are normally for a reason and today was no exception. Roy and I left Leggett at around 08:15 and retraced are run in from yesterday back to where Highway 1 forks off of the US101 towards Fort
Day 15 – Fort Bragg to Ocean Cove What a great day today was, a long one but nevertheless one of the most enjoyable of tour so far. Being an 80 mile day a few of us decided that an early start was a good plan so at 07:10, having availed
Day 16 – Ocean Cove to Sausalito Having driven Highway 1 several times before between San Francisco and Fort Bragg this was one of those days that had me concerned about the distance and climbing involved. As it turned out it was a brilliant day and one that I enjoyed
Day 17 – Sausalito to San Francisco For some reason I did not sleep very well last night, I was tired but kept waking up. Nevertheless, it was going to be an easy day today and an ‘official’ rest day, our first for over a week. But first we had
Day 18 – San Francisco to Davenport After a great sunny afternoon in San Francisco yesterday we awoke this morning to damp drizzly conditions which didn’t bode well for today’s ride to Davenport. Breakfast this morning was at a little cafe attached to another hotel where some of the riders
Day 19 – Davenport to Marina Today was going to be another short day of riding, just 47 miles and when I awoke this morning the sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky. Being a short day we took full advantage with a reasonable lie in and a
Day 20 – Davenport to Marina This is my third cycling adventure in the US and on each of the other two rides there have been a number of days that stand out as being ‘special’ for a number of reasons. Today’s ride was one of those ‘special’ days and
Day 21 Big Sur to San Simeon Today was going to be a big day, a reasonably long mileage and over 5,000 of climbing to be completed along the Big Sur coastline. Immediately out of the campground we hit the first climb of the day. It was not an easy one and
Day 22 – San Simeon to Arroyo Grande After a long hard day in the saddle yesterday it was nice to wake up this morning with the prospect of a relatively short day and a day to let the legs recover a little. Today was also the start of our
Day 23 – Arroyo Grande to Solvang After yesterday’s amble my legs felt especially good this morning and so it was going to be one of those fun days where I throw caution to the wind. We left Arroyo Grande in very misty conditions, mostly sea mist but there was
Day 24 – Solvang to Ventura I was up quite early this morning and had a restless night. At about 01:30 I was awoken by someone trying to get into my room and didn’t sleep a great deal after that. It transpired there was something going on upstairs and I
Day 25 – Ventura to Redondo Beach After a nice meal with Steph last night and haven written my blog from the poolside, I returned to my room and as I always do, checked my tyres. Just as well I have got into this habit because my front tyre was
Day 26 – Redondo Beach to San Clemente Woke this morning to a cloudy sky and it looked like there was the possibility of rain in the air although it never did all day. The road out of Redondo Beach and the out suburbs of Los Angeles was a little
Day 27 – San Clemente to Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, CA The last day of tour and always a bittersweet occasion, sad that our journey together is coming to an end but happy to be going home to see my loved ones who I have not seen for nearly a
After nearly 4 weeks on the road it was strange this morning not to have to get up early and prepare for another full day of cycling. I didn’t get to bed very early last night having spent a couple of hours boxing up my bike and doing the last